Who knew that at the same place where you can pick up a build-it-yourself futon or Lack floating shelf, you could also pick up a free plate of potatoes, sausage and eggs? Beginning in September 2014, all Ikeas across the U.S. started offering free breakfast on Mondays, as part of the company’s national plan to generate awareness for the restaurant and boost business, according to the Los Angeles Times.

As a Vietnam vet, I appreciated the good Leader coverage of the Veteran's Day celebrations at McCambridge Park.
That evening, we enjoyed a dinner at the Smokehouse where my entree was complimentary. Although there were other restaurants offering free...

A little bit of Bavaria comes to Burbank this weekend when an outdoor biergarten opens Saturday on San Fernando Boulevard between Olive and Angeleno avenues downtown.
It’s the return of OktoBURfest, featuring 60 varieties of craft beer for...

When Umami Burger moved into the building on the corner of Riverside Drive and Rose Street in Burbank, it kept a few traces of Papoo's Hot Dog Show, a restaurant that had been there for 62 years before closing in 2011.
The most obvious trace is the...

Forget the fact you have to park in an auto repair shop across a busy stretch of Glenoaks Boulevard. Ignore that this hard-to-find eatery is next to a hectic multipump gas station. Overlook the limitation that it's only open at night. Just get yourself to...

I was very disappointed to learn that the Burbank Elephant Bar restaurant closed, along with a number of others all around the country. Nearby, Northridge, Simi Valley, and Irvine branches have closed. Today I stopped by for lunch, only to find a notice of the closure on the door.
Elephant Bar was one of my favorite restaurants; I would go there for lunch once a week. It was a restaurant that had a fantastic menu, delicious food, a friendly staff, and reasonable prices. I'll really miss their yummy...

The 1950s and '60s saw a construction boom in the San Fernando Valley, Burbank in particular. Armed with newly invented building materials and a sleek car culture aesthetic, soldiers returning from war helped construct businesses and restaurants frequented by their growing families. Some of the classic diners have fallen victim to wrecking balls, but others have lived on, serving food to this very day.
Everyone knows the tasty food at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake, a gem of Streamline Moderne...

I have seen the mountaintop and it is layered thick in cheese and beef.
Since March my friend and I scoured Burbank for the best cheeseburger in the city. Many readers offered their favorite haunts — and some griddle jockeys I met along the way pointed me to new stops on the path to burger Nirvana.
Like all great adventures, it’s about the journey, not the destination. In my ground-beef-laden stupor I discovered a culinary subculture that revels in the art of the burger. Burbank history is...

Hot dogs and ice cream: They’re not just for backyard barbecues anymore. Two new Burbank eateries have elevated the simple summertime treats to new heights.
The Umami Burger chain of restaurants has certainly been written about before. But what you may not know is that the newest location in Toluca Lake is trying something new. They’ve quirkily updated the bygone Papoo’s Hot Dog Show, adding chandeliers to the old Western theme and paying homage to the shop’s predecessor by...

Whiplash is one of the hazards of my job. I take unfamiliar streets when I drive around town with the express purpose of discovering new restaurants. Peacha's, a tiny place on south Victory near Alameda in Burbank, made me do a hard double-take, almost hitting the car in front of me. Luckily, I didn't. Instead, I got to enjoy the best chimichanga of my life.
In all fairness, I don't normally do chimichangas, with the deep-frying and all, but I had to believe the nice guy behind the counter when he...

This is the second installment in a three-part series.
Hidden behind a shade tree on Victory Avenue, the Victory Café buzzes on a Sunday morning with platters of syrupy pancakes and mounds of eggs.
I wait for my cheeseburgers.
Two of them — one "Kobe-style" and one regular old-fashioned mound o' meat — are on their way. As we wait, my friend and I can't help but feel like we walked in on a family at breakfast. In a way, we did.
For three months, Jack Swiker of thedangersandwich....

This is the third installment in a three-part series.
Last Thanksgiving, while most of us were at home preparing our turkey and mashed potatoes, newly minted restaurateur Matt Peek was teaching himself how to cook.
In that one day, he crafted recipes for the fledgling menu at Not A Burger Stand, a Riverside Drive hangout in the rancho district. Fortunately for the burger-loving public, the name is ironic.
For just $5.75 Peek offers a nicely cooked patty with mild onions, some simple French’s...